Bacterial vaginosis: going full circle?

In 1955, Gardner and Dukes1 claimed that a single aetiological agent caused bacterial vaginosis (BV). This bacterium is now called Gardnerella vaginalis. In their experiments, 11 of 15 women developed BV symptoms after direct inoculation with vaginal secretions from women with BV. This, and the isolation of G. vaginalis from 45 of 47 husbands of women with BV, led them to suggest it was sexually transmitted.1 Many questioned this single-agent aetiology because anaerobic bacteria were cultured in association with G. vaginalisW1 and BV responded to metronidazole.W2 Some proposed that the anaerobes acted synergistically with G. vaginalisW1, while others believed that the anaerobes were the main aetiological agents.W3 The reservations that G. vaginalis was the single agent cast doubt about its sexual transmission.W4 This journal published important articles attempting to address this including the first paper to determine the prevalence of G. vaginalis in males and...
Source: Sexually Transmitted Infections - Category: Sexual Medicine Authors: Tags: Miscellaneous Source Type: research